By Any Other Name
by Moogle Princess
Summary: Yuffie, no matter what she is called, would still be as sweet. Or not. Vincent is about to find out the truth. (Adjusted the rating down since people around here are less grumpy about those sort of things. )
1. Part One

Part One

"You are not my girlfriend."

Yuffie Kisaragi looked up from the WRO report she had been reading and glanced over her shoulder at the door. Her dark eyebrows arched upward away from grey eyes and she smirked, "Finally heard about that, did you?"

Vincent Valentine stood impassively in the doorway without replying. His face appeared blank, but Yuffie knew him well enough to see the slight twitch in his fingers and mouth to indicate how angry he really was. Yuffie set the reports down on the desk in front of her and turned around. When she noticed the mud on Vincent's boots she jumped up, cursing sharply in Wutianese before switching mid-sentence into common, "-all over your damned boots! Did you drag mud all the way up here?"

Vincent looked down at his feet. He had come through the side yard, ignoring the path for the quicker way through the garden, "What does that matter?"

Yuffie growled and pulled her chair over to him, "'What does that matter?' he says! Just sit down and take those off."

While Vincent sat, Yuffie went to her travel pack and pulled out a plastic trash bag. She held it open as he pulled off one boot, "Just put those in here. I don't want any more mud in our house."

"It is not _our _house." Vincent said, a little sharper than he had intended. He pulled off the other boot and put it in the bag.

Yuffie ignored him, practically talking over him, "It'll take me hours to clean it all up! Damn it Vince, that's why I put the door mat by the back door. You're supposed to scrape the mud off the boots before you come in."

"Yuffie…" Vincent murmured warningly.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, "Oh all right… it's _your_ house, not _our_ house. I just live here. I still don't want mud all over the floor. It'll wreck my socks."

She took the trash bag holding his boots and walked out of the room. Only after he heard her feet going down the stairs did he realize how neatly she had dodged him. Vincent growled deep in his throat and went after her. She was in the kitchen with a broom and dust pan, scooping up the worst of the clumps of mud.

"You better not have stomped through the roses." Yuffie said without looking up at him, "Those are my favorite."

"You are not my girlfriend." Vincent said again, refusing to give her an opening to trick him a second time, "You had no right to tell Tifa that you are."

Yuffie snorted, "Tifa's got a big mouth."

When Vincent did not say anything, Yuffie sighed heavily, "I was just trying the idea out, like a pair of shoes, you know… to see if they fit."

Vincent arched an eyebrow. Yuffie hated when he did that. Whenever he gave her that look, the flood gates opened and she told him whatever he wanted to know.

"Gawd, Vincent, what do you want me to say?" Yuffie dropped the broom and dust pan on the ground and turned her full attention on him, "I got tired of Tifa's cracks about me and you. She's so smug since Cloud came around and quit mourning Aeris. You would think she single handedly made him better…

"'You live with him, Yuffie, you should know' whatever obnoxious information I feel like is my business." Yuffie said, pitching her tone deeper in a mockery of Tifa's voice, "'Where's your better half, Yuffie? Oops! Well… you know what I mean.'

"So I said I was your girlfriend, not your keeper." Yuffie shrugged, "I didn't figure I was that far off. I mean… we live in the same house, share the same bedroom, sleep in the same bed-"

"That is because you claim your room is 'creepy'." Vincent said.

Yuffie's lips tightened. She forced herself not to clench her fists. The desire to hit him would be too strong then, "Fine. Not your girlfriend, then. I'm sure you set Tifa straight quick enough anyway, roomie. Go away so I can clean up the mess you made."

Vincent turned and walked out of the room. Yuffie could hear his footsteps head into the ballroom. If she strained, she would be able to hear the piano start playing, but she did not care that much. He would play for several hours and then retreat into the study or the garden to wait until everything blew over. He would probably assume that she would be cheerfully making dinner in a few hours, anger and argument forgotten.

Yuffie looked down at the mud and the broom and sighed in disgust. It would not be that easy this time. She quietly went up the stairs and collected her things from Vincent's room. He had never seemed to mind curling up with her at night before. Yuffie had been creeped out when she first started living in the old mansion with him. The first night, all the furniture in the room had been covered in dust cloths. She had gone to his room and jokingly asked to stay with him. He had said that it was fine and moved over so she could join him.

Those first few weeks, she had been more uncomfortable with the situation than he had been. She had stayed awake the whole night, the first time he turned over in his sleep and wrapped an arm around her waist. She should have moved into her own room after it was cleaned out, but the feelings that she had developed for him in the years that they had worked together grew too difficult to ignore. She began to enjoy the nights cuddled up against him.

Their life settled into a comfortable routine. She cooked all their meals after discovering he could barely boil water, but he purchased all the supplies that they needed so she was not doing all the work. She kept the mansion cleaner than he would have, but he did all the heavy repair work and brought the garden back to life again. She did their laundry and he did the dishes. At night they would curl up together and sleep comfortably. It had been a great set up.

Back in the spare bedroom, Yuffie put fresh sheets on the bed. She did not understand why he was so concerned about what others thought. She did the things a girlfriend did for a boyfriend. There had been no admission of feelings on his part, but she had just assumed that was because he was not one for talking. She had never imagined that he did not return her feelings. That made her pride hurt.

Things would be different now. Yuffie put her clothes away in the closet and put the few possessions she had on surfaces around the room. The stuffed moogle toy she had won at the Gold Saucer went on the bed. The picture of their whole team that was taken at the Gold Saucer before Cait Sith stole the Keystone was put on the bedside table. A warn picture of her mother went under the pillow with a small shuriken. The silver handled brush she found in the room when she moved in went back on the dresser by the mirror.

Yuffie looked at herself in the mirror. She did not feel like cooking that night, but she was in the mood to get dressed up and go out. Being out of the house would do her good. She changed into a short dress that Tifa had convinced her to buy for her eighteenth birthday and pinned her hair up with a jeweled clip that had once belonged to her great-great grandmother. She put on a pair of heels that she had borrowed from Shera and had not had the opportunity to return. When she was satisfied with the way she looked, she grabbed her purse and left the house as quietly as she could. Let Vincent wonder what had happened to her for a while. It would do him good.


	2. Part Two

Part Two

Vincent turned over in his bed. His red eyes opened and he stared blankly up at the ceiling. It was odd, but he could not get to sleep. Vincent turned back onto his side and called himself a fool. It was not odd. He had gotten used to having Yuffie tucked against him like a human furnace. He was freezing, even with two blankets on.

He knew he should not be surprised that Yuffie's behavior had changed. He had been harsh and hurt her feelings. Her behavior was not a surprise to him, but his reaction to it had been.

After their fight, Yuffie had vanished. The floor in the kitchen was still covered in mud. He searched the house but could not find her. It was unlike her to leave without telling him where she was going and when she would be back. Usually, she would try to convince him to come with her on whatever errand she was running. Yuffie was a grown woman and did not need his permission to leave the house. They were only roommates after all.

When he had reached his room, he was shocked to find all of Yuffie's things were gone. For a moment he feared that she had left the house for good. He checked the spare room beside his and found all her things had been moved. It was a disappointing surprise, but it was for the better. Sharing a room with her had given her the wrong idea about them. This would help her get over it.

The sun had set and it was late when Yuffie finally returned to the mansion. She was dressed nicely and carried a styrofoam container. Yuffie had only smiled blandly and walked into the kitchen. Vincent followed her and watched her scribble her name onto the container with a marker before putting it in the refrigerator.

"I always forget how much I like that restaurant in the middle of town until I go." Yuffie grinned, "I'm stuffed. I got that roast beef that you like so much, but I couldn't finish it all. I think I'll have it for lunch tomorrow. Don't want it to go to waste after all."

Vincent had only nodded and wished her a good night as she climbed the stairs. She had never gone out to eat without him before. Usually she made sure that they both ate well, either by cooking something or dragging him along to the restaurant.

After fixing himself a simple sandwich, Vincent had tried to work on some paperwork for Reeve. He could not seem to make his mind focus. Finally he gave up on it and went to bed. Four hours later he was still awake.

Vincent did not know what to do. When he had stopped by Tifa's bar that morning, she had commented on how glad she was that he and Yuffie had made things official. Vincent had stared at her in confusion until she told him that Yuffie had called herself his girlfriend. Tifa told him that everyone else felt that it was about time.

He had fled the bar shortly after that, feeling incredibly embarrassed. He had never actually considered Yuffie his girlfriend. He would have never called her something as crude as roommate, but he would not have referred to her as girlfriend either. Regardless of how she felt about him, he did not love her.

Rolling onto his other side, Vincent realized that his sleeplessness suggested otherwise. Did he love her? He liked her, certainly, or they would not have been living together. Vincent felt himself blushing slightly, you did not usually share a bed with someone you only had friendly feelings toward.

They had certainly been through a lot together. Vincent felt safer with her at his back than he would with anyone else on their team. He wanted her to feel the same way. That was why he had allowed her to move in when she had asked for a place to stay. He could not deny that he was glad she had come to him first.

He thought that love would always be hard and bright, like it had been with Lucrecia. There had been no question of his feelings when he fell in love with Lucrecia. He had never sat awake in bed and wondered over it. He had looked at her and had known in every part of him that he loved her. He did not feel that way about Yuffie.

Yuffie made him feel comfortable. They could talk easily on any subject that interested them. They had fallen into routines quickly that worked out well for both of them. When she had asked to stay in his room, he had never questioned it. He had only asked that she sleep on the left side of the bed as he had grown accustomed to sleeping on the right. It never felt strange to roll over and wrap his arms around her. Still, that was not the normal action of a friend.

He supposed that love could be a comfortable warmth instead of a painful fire, but did he love Yuffie? He thought back to the moment that he realized her things were gone. In that moment, he wondered what he would do without her around. The relief that he felt when he found her things had only been moved to another room was indescribable. He really did not want to live without her.

He would not, he decided. Vincent climbed out of bed and picked up his pillow. Quietly he crept down the hall to the room Yuffie had moved into. She was curled up on the left side of the bed the blankets bunched up around her back. She cuddled a moogle doll in her arms. The sight made him smile slightly.

Walking slowly so the boards would not creak under his feet, Vincent crossed to Yuffie's bed. He reached down, touching her shoulder with his unscarred hand. She was awake instantly, hand groping under her pillow. Vincent knew she kept weaponry in bed with her and whispered her name urgently so she did not hurt him.

When she recognized him, her hand stilled, "Vinnie? What're you doin' in my room? Is there a fire or somethin'?"

"No…" Vincent felt like an idiot as he clutched his pillow to his chest, "My room is… creepy. May I sleep in here with you?"

"Yuffie smiled and pulled the blanket out flat for him, "Only if you'll sleep on the right side of the bed. My back is freezing."

She put the moogle on the bedside table with her picture of Avalanche, "Squeakers, you gotta move again. Vinnie needs t'be snuggled tonight."

Vincent let Yuffie pull his arm around her. She rubbed her cheek against his arm and inhaled deeply, "This is much better."

Vincent made an inarticulate sound of agreement as he settled down beside her. She chuckled and looked at him over her shoulder, "Only one night. I overestimated you. I gave you three, maybe even four days before you caved."

With a sleepy sigh, Vincent admitted, "I'm weak."

Yuffie made a sleepy noise that was probably a form of agreement and murmured, "I won't tell. Don't worry."

They were quiet a moment, enjoying the peace of being back together, when Yuffie said, "You're also my boyfriend. Deal with it."


End file.
